ostensible

[o-sten-suh-buhl]

adjective

1. outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended.

   an ostensible cheerfulness concealing sadness.

2. Rare.,  apparent, evident, or conspicuous.

   the ostensible truth of their theories.

ostensible

/ ɒˈstɛnsɪbəl /

adjective

1. apparent; seeming

2. pretended

Other Word Forms

• ostensibly adverb
• nonostensible adjective
• unostensible adjective
• ostensibility noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ostensible¹

First recorded in 1730–40; from French, from Latin ostēns(us) , variant of ostentus ( ostensive ) + French -ible -ible

Word History and Origins

Origin of ostensible¹

C18: via French from Medieval Latin ostensibilis, from Latin ostendere to show, from ob- before + tendere to extend

Example Sentences

The Monday summit also revealed that Putin’s ostensible concession at the Alaska summit to agree to international security guarantees for Ukraine is a poisoned chalice.

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The White House’s pressure on American institutions of higher education is effecting collateral damage on a host of its ostensible allies, Malaysia included.

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All of the growth coming, as Russell notes, detention and deportation being shown to be ineffective at the administration’s ostensible goal of reducing crime.

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Most recently, the admin authorized deportations without due process to an ostensible prison and actual black site in El Salvador.

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The tragicomic hallucination that you see unfolding every day, wherein ostensible adults discuss secret war plans in hackable social media texts replete with emojis, exclamation points and lols, is what the American people freely chose.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• avowed 
• plausible 
• professed 
• purported